Bella Poarch, the popular influencer with the most-liked TikTok video in the platform’s history, has officially launched her music career, inking a deal with Warner Records, the company tells Billboard. Poarch has also released her debut single, “Build a Bitch,” and its accompanying music video on Friday (May 14).
“I feel like I found my family and part of that family is the label,” Poarch says of signing to Warner in a statement to Billboard. “When I looked up some of the artists that meant the most to me musically like Prince, Dua Lipa, and Madonna, I realized Warner has helped all of those people along the way too. So I’m very honored to have a family that gave me a chance and believes in me.”
A native of the Philippines who graduated high school in California at 16 and joined the U.S. military one year later, Poarch developed a huge following on TikTok after completing four years of service, with an August 2020 lip-synch post setting a record with over 48 million likes. Poarch has been singing since her childhood, and has been working with producers like Benny Blanco and Ryan Tedder in recent months.
“The first time I heard Bella in the studio it was obvious that she’d been singing for a long time,” says Stefan Max, senior vp of A&R at Warner Records. “I couldn’t believe the amount of musical talent she had hiding, and she’s finally unleashing that creativity with ‘Build a Bitch.’ I know I speak for the whole Warner Records staff when I say that we’re overjoyed to be helping Bella bring that artistic vision to the world.”
“Build a Bitch” is an audacious, darkly comic slice of new-school pop that was created with Daniel Virgil Maisonneuve, the producer-songwriter better known as Sub Urban. Poarch says that the song “has many meanings to me. Mainly it’s about accepting yourself and embracing imperfections and your flaws. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure that society and the internet puts on people to look perfect or be a certain way. My whole message with ‘Build a Bitch’ is that I want people to realize that you don’t have to be perfect. And that it’s okay not to be, too. I want to inspire people to be comfortable in their own skin and to stay true to themselves no matter what.”
Poarch adds, “I’ve been singing and writing songs my whole life but to put together something special in this way and to have this opportunity… it’s something I’ll forever be grateful for. This is just the beginning.”
